PO-KUAN WU
How did you start in 3D? How did you discover Houdini?
I started out as a student of a 3D Animation in college in 2010. Later I started learning VFX in San Francisco where I got to know Houdini.
Where do you currently work?
I am an associate VFX artist at Sledgehammer games.
What are your goals as an artist?
I would honestly be proud to make really cool effect that people will remember.
Tell us about your favorite project accomplished in Houdini. What made it interesting? What were the challenges you faced?
My favorite Houdini project is a 10-second animation shot that I worked on for my friend’s thesis project. It’s about an archer killing a monster. It’s unique because it was my very first time Houdini project. And it was a long shot complete with destruction, smoke, blood, and glowing tail fx. The result was cool, and I made a lot of friends along the way.
Have you learned any helpful VFX tips or tricks recently?
I think one of my favorite tricks is to make a volumetric smoke loop in Houdini for game textures. I learned from the Real-Time FX Course by Urban Bradesko.
What online resources keep you motivated to grow as an artist?
Applied Houdini and Rebelway are the two online sources that keep me moving.
There are many VFX schools & tutorial websites. In your opinion how does Rebelway compare?
I took a lot of online school and tutorials, including three workshops from Rebelway. I am sure the courses from Rebelway are very good. They have the right path and great content to learn. The instructors give massive feedback on the assignment so you to achieve a better result. The price of the courses is definitely worthwhile.
What did Rebelway help you achieve?
As a recent graduate FX student without much experience, I struggled to find a job under COVID-19. Then I learned Unreal by taking the Real-Time FX Course at Rebelway and updated my reel for about two months. I then began receiving emails requesting me to interview as an FX artist at multiple game studios. I completed the art tests using all the things I learn from the course. As a result, I’m happy to say that I now work as a full-time FX artist.
Here’s a trailer for that course.
What’s next for you on your artistic journey?
I am very excited about the latest version of Houdini. I would love to make more cool explosions.
Where can people see more of your work?
I host all my work here on pokuanwu.com and here is link to my Vimeo channel.
